Aliyu Muhammed, 42, a mechanic from Sabo Gari, Mararaban Jos in Igabi Local Government Area, told The PUNCH that his wife, Ummulkhairi, was seized by an angry crowd and killed after being taken from a police station.
Muhammed said his wife left home that morning to attend an Islamiya school in neighbouring Tsohuwa Mararaban Jos. At 11:21 a.m. he received a call informing him that she had been accused by some women of attempting to traffic children and was being held. He said a village head and others rushed to the scene and that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was contacted to take her to the station.
According to Muhammed, his sister accompanied his wife to the station after she was initially rescued. He alleges that while she was inside, the DPO seized her, dragged her to the station gate and pushed her outside, where a mob beat her, placed a motorcycle on her and set both on fire. Muhammed said he later saw his wife’s burnt body on the road, covered with leaves.
“We want a thorough investigation into the DPO’s role,” Muhammed told reporters. “Why did he drag my wife outside and allow a mob to kill her after she had been rescued and taken to the police station?” He said the incident has devastated his family; his wife was 35 and they have four young children.
Muhammed said he was told about arrests — he has heard that about 22 people are in custody — but he has not been officially shown those detained. He said the police provided two vehicles to convey the body for burial but that neither the Commissioner of Police nor the DPO spoke with him at the scene.
Speaking about the impact on his family, Muhammed said he has been unwell and sleepless since the incident and called for justice and accountability. He urged the public to respect due process and not take the law into their own hands.
Requests for comment to the Kaduna State Police Command were not immediately answered. This report will be updated if the police issue a response.
(This article is republished with credit to The PUNCH and reporter Israel Bulus.)
